Badminton World Championships: India's PV Sindhu sails into semis

NANJING, China: India’s PV Sindhu continued her inspired and impressive run at the World Badminton Championships defeating Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-16, 24-22 to enter the final.

In a match that lasted 55 minutes, Sindhu gained her rhythm late in the first game.

In the second game, Yamaguchi kept a tidy lead from the start. At one stage, Sindhu was trailing 12-19 but displayed great composure and won eight straight points to equalise and final seal match in extra-points.

Sindhu faces Carolina Marin of Spain in today’s final.

Marin beat He Bingjiao 13-21, 21-16, 21-13.

In the men’s section, Japan’s Kento Momota, who last year completed a lengthy ban for illegal gambling, is within touching distance of redemption after surging into the final.

Promising

Momota beat the unseeded Malaysian Liew Daren 21-16, 21-5.

The 23-year-old Momota’s highly promising career descended into controversy in 2016 when Japanese badminton chiefs suspended him for more than a year for visiting an illicit casino, denying him a place at Rio.

In the other semi-final, upstart Shi Yuqi comfortably beat Chen Long 21-11, 21-17.

Momota, the first Japanese man to reach a world championship final, put his sluggish start down to nerves.

“He was very fast and I did not adapt myself well to his pace,” he said, vowing not to repeat that in the final.

“Shi is a world-class player and all-rounder so it will be a very tough game.

“But I will be tenacious and the lesson I will take from today is that I need to take the initiative and not be passive.”